Abstract: Systems and methods for reducing glare from a heads-up display (HUD). Internal and external antireflective coatings may be provided on interior and outer surfaces of glass layers surrounding a holographic polymer layer. A substrate guided hologram may be integrated into a HUD to diffract and direct external radiation to the edge of a HUD. An arrangement for forming a substrate guided hologram includes an array of reflectors and a shaped glass block. Antireflective coated glass layers may be index-matched to opposite sides of a holographic polymer film prior to recording a reflection hologram. An inactive playback beam may be used to monitor the diffraction efficiency of a reflection hologram and of a spurious transmission hologram with the recording of the reflection hologram to maximize the difference between the diffraction efficiencies of useful reflection hologram and spurious transmission hologram.

Abstract: An anti-glare film for a light source is disclosed. The light source may be a light source with a Lambertian distribution, such as an LED light source. The anti-glare film may include a micro-frustum array to reduce the angular distribution of the light source and thus reduce glare. In some implementations, anti-glare film may further include a light shaping diffuser.

Abstract: A micro-optic cell design with a regularly spaced micro-lens array, having a series of randomly positioned lenslets that have been digitally overwritten, wherein the overwritten area is greater than 0 up to 100 percent fill, and wherein a light shaping diffuser pattern is placed on top of the lenslets of the micro-optic cell.

Abstract: This application discloses an apparatus for minimizing the optical effects of transmissive domes, and for using the dome surfaces to correct for other optical aberrations and distortions. Herein, the inner surface of the dome is designed to correct for unwanted optical effects of the outer surface of the dome and may also be used to correct for other anticipated effects in the overall optical system.

Abstract: An array of microstructures or frustums on a substrate for reducing glare for electronic device displays or windows. The microstructures are designed to nearly perfectly align with the pixels on the display to avoid adverse viewing effects, such as Moiré effects. Substantially all light from the environment illuminating the front side of the film containing the microstructures from all angles is not reflected to the primary viewer (often viewing at an angle normal to the film). Light illuminating the microstructure from the environment will reflect off the microstructures at angles greater than a defined threshold outside the primary viewers field of view. Thus, glare to the primary viewer is minimized while glare to other views who view from other angles than the primary viewer is increased. This increased glare for other viewers adds privacy for the viewing by the primary viewer.

Abstract: A transparent holographic diffuser screen that diffracts the light beams of a digital light projector, which focuses a real image in the plane of the aforementioned transparent holographic diffuser screen, which redirects the light to an eyebox at a pre-determined viewing position generating as a set of diffracted diffused beams that can be seen from the eyebox as a flat in-plane image. The transparent holographic diffuser screen may be used to provide either a highest luminance or a largest eyebox. Potential applications include use for automotive applications, which may include applications for displaying videos, playing games, and video conference apps.

Abstract: An illumination system converting light beams into wide-angle light transmissions including i) a cylindrical member having a cone-shaped depression in a distal end; and ii) a semi-circular member having an inner radial surface adjacent to a sidewall of the cylindrical member; and angled upper and lower annular surfaces extending from the cylindrical member and meeting at an outer radial edge. A light beam entering the proximal end of the cylindrical member strikes a first edge of the cone-shaped depression and is reflected out as a first light transmission; or it strikes a second edge of the cone-shaped depression, is reflected against the upper and lower annular surfaces, and exits the cylindrical member as a second light transmission parallel to the first diffused light transmission. At least one light path passes through a diffuser on the cylindrical member.

Abstract: The Compound Eye Laser Illumination Seeker (CELIS) is a tracking system used to guide items to point at a laser-illuminated target, with the illumination being either pulsed or modulated at either a specific rate or within a range of rates. The CELIS, comprising a multiaperture compound receiver optics (MACRO) to collect the signal, a set of light guides to combine the received light into light representing individual angular sectors and redirect it to detectors whose output represents the illumination signal in that quadrant, a spectral filter, an angle filter, the set of detectors, and processing electronics. The output is an electronic signal indicating the angular difference between the pointing direction of the signal and the pointing direction of the tracking device.

Abstract: A method for design and fabrication of holographic optical elements for a compact holographic sight is proposed. The method includes use of ray-trace software to design holographic elements having optical power using an intermediate hologram with parameters obtained through minimization of the merit function defining image quality.

Abstract: The invention relates to an illumination system converting light beams into wide-angle light transmissions. It includes i) a cylindrical member having a cone-shaped depression in a distal end; and ii) a semi-circular member having an inner radial surface adjacent to a sidewall of the cylindrical member; and angled upper and lower annular surfaces extending from the cylindrical member and meeting at an outer radial edge. A light beam entering the proximal end of the cylindrical member strikes a first edge of the cone-shaped depression and is reflected out as a first light transmission; or it strikes a second edge of the cone-shaped depression, is reflected against the upper and lower annular surfaces, and exits the cylindrical member as a second light transmission parallel to the first diffused light transmission. At least one light path passes through a diffuser on the cylindrical member.

Abstract: A plug-and-play fiber-coupled nonlinear optical quantum wave-converter, optimized for quantum communications, comprises a commercial periodically-poled, waveguide-based, nonlinear optical chip, coupled with a pair of substrate-guided holographic (SGH) wavelength division multiplexers (WDM) and a pair of SGH filters; it offers bidirectional difference frequency conversion (DFG) and sum frequency conversion (SFG) simultaneously in a single packaged device.

Abstract: The present invention is a Substrate guided hologram that allows a wider range of optical devices based on SGHs with improved parameters such as larger NTE displays with a wider field of view, thinner substrates and more compact form factors. The Substrate-Guided Hologram of the subject invention includes a holographic lens which is positioned at an angle to and spaced from a holographic grating, with a mirror located at a diagonal to each of the lens and the grating.

Abstract: Multiple pairs of substrate-guided wave-based holograms (SGWHs) are laminated to a common thin substrate to form a transparent substrate-guided wave-based holographic CHMSL (SGWHC) that diffracts playback LED illumination over a wide angular range. This device is made pursuant to a technique that includes the steps of recording a first set of SGWHs with one setup, that upon playback, will couple and guide the diffracted light inside the substrate, and a second set of SGWHs recorded with another setup, that will diffract and couple the guided light out.

Abstract: The Compound Eye Laser Illumination Seeker is a tracking system used to guide items to point at a laser-illuminated target, with the illumination being either pulsed or modulated at either a specific rate or within a range of rates. The device comprises a multiaperture compound receiver optics to collect the signal, a set of light guides to combine the received light into light representing individual angular sectors and redirect it to detectors whose output represents the illumination signal in that quadrant, a spectral filter, an angle filter, the set of detectors, and processing electronics. The output is an electronic signal indicating the angular difference between the pointing direction of the signal and the pointing direction of the tracking device.

Abstract: A laser system containing an etalon to reduce the spectral bandwidth and for tuning, with cavity dumping to generate the short pulses is described. The resulting system is stable and not overly complicated. The combination of cavity dumping with an intracavity etalon enables the invention to produce a string of short pulses, each of which has a very narrow spectral bandwidth. Tuning the wavelength over a spectral range that is very small, but much larger than the laser's spectral bandwidth, enables the invention to use dual-wavelength lidar, DIAL, differential spectroscopy, or a combination of these methods to measure the concentration of the desired chemicals with excellent accuracy.

Abstract: The subject invention includes a semiconductor laser with the laser having a DBR mirror on a substrate, a quantum well on the DBR mirror, and an interior CGH with a back propagated output for emitting a large sized Gaussian and encircling high energy. The DBR mirror has a plurality of GaAs/AlGaAs layers, while the quantum well is composed of AlGaAs/InGaAs. The CGH is composed of AlGaAs.

Abstract: A method for design and fabrication of holographic optical elements for a compact holographic sight is proposed. The method includes use of ray-trace software to design holographic elements having optical power using an intermediate hologram with parameters obtained through minimization of the merit function defining image quality.

Abstract: A graphene composite coating on a metal surface with excellent corrosion resistance by electrophoretic or electrolytic deposition has been obtained. The composite coating was shown to significantly increase the resistance of the metal surface to electrochemical degradation. The graphene coating significantly reduces cathodic current, which is an indicator of the rate of corrosion at the interface between the cathodic material and the anodic material.

Abstract: The subject invention includes a biomimetic integrated optical sensor system, based on the integration of a wide field-of-view (WFOV) miniature staring multi-aperture compound eye with a high-speed, low-cost, polarization and spectral selective liquid crystal (LC) filter array, a MWIR focal plane array (FPA), and a neural network processor.

Abstract: The optical diffuser mastering of the subject invention includes legacy microstructure surface relief patterns, along with smaller ones, overlaid on the larger ones. The characteristic features produced by the present invention will be found useful to eliminate visible structures in/on optical diffusers, such as those used in movie projection screens (utilizing either coherent (i.e., laser-generated) and non-coherent (e.g., lamp-generated) light), head-up displays (HUDs), laser projection viewing, etc., as the present invention produces much sharper images than those afforded by traditional holographic optical diffusers.